VANCOUVER, British Columbia — A mass shooting at a secondary school in northern British Columbia has left 10 people dead, including the suspected gunwoman, in what authorities describe as one of Canada’s deadliest incidents of violence in recent years.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) confirmed that seven victims were killed in the attack at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School on Tuesday. An eighth victim died while being transported to hospital. Two additional bodies were later discovered at a nearby home believed to be connected to the suspect.
Police said more than 25 individuals were injured in the shooting, including two who were airlifted to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The suspect, identified only as a woman, was found dead at the scene from what investigators described as a “self-inflicted injury.” Authorities have not released her name, and her motive remains under investigation.
RCMP Superintendent Ken Floyd said police officers responded within two minutes of receiving reports of gunfire. Investigators are working to determine how the victims were connected to the suspect.
School shootings are rare in Canada.
Tumbler Ridge, a community of approximately 2,700 residents located more than 1,000 kilometers north of Vancouver near the Alberta border, is home to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, which enrolls about 175 students from Grades 7 to 12.
Video footage circulating online showed students exiting the school with their hands raised as police vehicles surrounded the campus and a helicopter circled overhead.
Mayor Darryl Krakowka described the tragedy as deeply personal for the tight-knit town.
“I broke down,” Krakowka said, calling the loss “devastating” for what he described as a “big family.”
“I have lived here for 18 years. I probably know every one of the victims,” he added.
Families gathered at a local recreation center awaiting updates as authorities followed strict identification protocols.
The Rev. George Rowe of Tumbler Ridge Fellowship Baptist Church said the emotional toll was overwhelming.
“It was not a pretty sight. Families are still waiting to hear if it’s their child that’s deceased and because of protocol and procedure the investigating team is very careful in releasing names,” Rowe said.
“The big thing tonight was my having to walk away and the families still waiting to find out. It is so difficult. Other pastors and counselors are there so they are not alone.”
Rowe, a former teacher at the high school whose three children graduated from the institution, said, “To walk through the corridors of that school will never be the same again.”
British Columbia Premier David Eby called the incident an “unimaginable tragedy” and urged residents to support the grieving community.
“I know it’s causing us all to hug our kids a little bit tighter tonight,” Eby said. “I’m asking the people of British Columbia to look after the people of Tumbler Ridge tonight.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was “devastated” by the shooting, writing in a social media post: “I join Canadians in grieving with those whose lives have been changed irreversibly today, and in gratitude for the courage and selflessness of the first responders who risked their lives to protect their fellow citizens.”
Carney’s office confirmed he has suspended a planned trip to Halifax and Munich, where he was scheduled to announce a defense industrial strategy and attend the Munich Security Conference.
Tuesday’s attack marks Canada’s deadliest mass shooting since 2020, when a gunman in Nova Scotia killed 13 people and set fires that left another nine dead.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
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